Mobile dock structure

ABSTRACT

A pair of longitudinally extended bar joists connected together in a generally parallel relationship have a wheel-equipped frame mounted spaced from one end thereof for adjustment of the wheels toward and away from the bar joists. A plurality of deck members are secured to the bar joists by nut-equipped bolts which pass through the deck members and selected ones of a plurality of longitudinally extended slots formed in each of the bar joists at spaced intervals longitudinally of the bar joists.

United States- Patent l Nasby, Jr. July 23, 1974 [54] MOBILE DOCKSTRUCTURE 3,380,257 4/1968 Gillman et a1. 61/48 1 memos Charles Nasby,4624 Bruce 3223'??? $1133? 1311122311;11:11::111111...........:111321/13 Ave. 80., Minneapolis, Minn. 55424 [22] Filed: Nov. 3, 1972Primary Examiner-Robert R. Mackey Assistant ExaminerPhilip C. Kannan[21] Appl' 303606 Attorney, Agent, or FirmMerchant, Gould, Smith &

Edell [52] US. Cl. 61/48, 52/694 [51] Int. Cl E021! 3/20 [57] ABSTRACT[58] Field of Search 61/48 463 l4/3* A pair of longitudinally extendedbar joists connected 14/6 52/694 together in a generally parallelrelationship have a wheel-equipped frame mounted spaced from one end[56] References cued thereof for adjustment of the wheels toward andaway UNITED STAT S PATENTS from the bar joists. A plurality of deckmembers are 1,918,346 7/1933 McHose 52/694 x secured to the bar joistsby nut-equipped bolts which 2,246,215 6/1941 Nagin et a1. 52/694 X passthrough the deck members and selected ones of a 2,578,465 12/1951 Davis,Jr. et al 52/694 X plurality of longitudinally extended slots formed inKarst each of the bar joists at paced intervals longitudinally 3,106,99510/1963 Abramson 52/694 X of the bar joists 3,325,957 6/1967 Demeules etal. 52/694 X 3,345,825 10/1967 Parker 61/48 6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures1 MOBILE DOCK STRUCTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates generally to docking facilities forwatercraft and more particularly relates to the construction of mobiletype dock structures.

2. Description of the Prior Art Docking facilities suitable for mooringsmall watercraft and for use during swimming and other waterrelatedsports have long been produced. Examples of such structures may be seenin U.S. Pat. No. 1,975,049 issued Sept. 25, 1934, to H. Middlebrook; US.Pat. No. 3,081,601 issued Mar. 19, 1963, to A. E. Fentiman; and U.S.Pat. No. 3,380,257 issued Apr. 30, 1968, to R. Gillman et al. In spiteof the heavy development in this field, dock structures of the typecontemplated have heretofore been highly unsatisfactory for a number ofreasons. By way of example, when it has been attempted to construct suchdocking facilities in a manner to simplify construction and reduce theexpense thereof, such facilities have failed to withstand the rigors ofuse and unfriendly elements. Attempts to overcome the above difficultieshave resulted in somewhat complicated structures which are not onlyexpensive to manufacture but require constant maintenance and repair. Inaddition, the prior art structures, despite their complexity, often failto provide the necessary durability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present inventionto provide a dock structure which is simple in construction, relativelyinexpensive to manufacture and which requires but a minimum ofmaintenance and repair.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device of theclass above described which is mobile for easy removal from or insertioninto a body of water.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a deviceof the class above described which is extremely durable and iseasilyadaptable, with a minimum of added expense, to varying conditions ofuse.

With the above objects in mind, the present invention includes a pair oflongitudinally extended bar joists having upper and lower chord elementsand angularly disposed connecting elements. The bar joists are connectedtogether in a generally parallel relationship, with the upper chordelements in a common horizontal plane, by a series of bracestherebetween. A wheelequipped frame has laterally spaced verticalsupport members which are telescopically received in tubular elementssecured to the bar joists in spaced relation to the end thereof. Aplurality of deck members extend laterally outwardly of the bar joistsand are secured to the upper chord elements by nut-equipped boltsextending through thedeck members and selected ones of a plurality oflongitudinally extended slots formed in the upper chord elements of thebar joists, and each of the bar joists is formed at opposite ends toprovide'for hinged attachment of a like dock structure utilized toextend the length of the dock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Referring particularly to the drawingswherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the severalviews:

FIG. 1 is a view partially in side elevation and partially in verticalsection of the operative placement of a mobile dock structureconstructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical section as seen generally from the line2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section as seen generally from the line3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a greatly enlarged vertical section as seen generally from theline 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a greatly enlarged fragmentary detailed section showing theattachment of the deck members to the supporting structure thereof;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of FIG. 1illustrating the hinged connection of the separate dock sectionsthereof;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view as seen generally from the line7-7 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged sectional view as seen generally from the line 8-8of FIG. 1, portions thereof being broken away;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of one end of thedock structure of FIG. 1 showing that end adjacent the shoreline,portions thereof being broken away; and

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the structure shown inFIG. 9, portions thereof being removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring with greaterparticularity to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a dock structure,indicated generally by the numeral 10, which extends into a body ofwater 11 from an anchoring pad 12 situated adjacent the shoreline 13 ofthe body of water 11. The particular application shown in FIG. 1illustrates the use of a pair of dock sections hereinafter indicated asan inner and outer dock section 15, 16, respectively. It will be herenoted that the inner and outer dock sections 15, 16 are substantiallyidentical structures and in certain applications only the dock section15 may be utilized. Therefore, in the interest of brevity, similar partsof inner and outer dock sections 15, 16 will carry like numeralthroughout the following description.

Inner and outer dock sections l5, 16 each include a pair oflongitudinally extended bar joists 17. Bar joists 17 are truss-typesupporting structures and each includes an upper chord element formed oflongitudinally extended laterally spaced rail members 18, a lower chordelement formed of laterally spaced rail members 19 and angularlydisposed connecting elements 20. As seen particularly in FIGS. 2-5 and9, the angularly disposed connecting elements 20 are formed from asingle length of round bar stock as are the laterally spaced railmembers 19 of the lower chord element. The laterally spaced rail members18 of the upper chord element are formed from longitudinally extendedright angles to add lateral stability to their respective bar joists 17when such bar joists 17 are disposed with the connecting elements 20lying in a vertical plane. Opposite end portions of the connectingelements 20 are disposed between and secured to the laterally spacedrail members 18, 19 such that the portions of the connecting members 20disposed between the rail members 18 cooperate therewith to definelongitudinally extended slots 21 that are spaced and extendlongitudinally of the bar joists 17. The function of the slots 21 willbe explained in greater detail hereinafter. Brace means rigidlyconnecting the bar joists 17 of each dock section 15, 16 in a generallyparallel relationship include a plurality of right angle bars 25extending between and secured to adjacent rail members 18 of the upperchord elements and transversely extending braces 26 each secured to andextending from the upper chord elements of one bar joist 17 to the lowerchord elements of the other bar joist 17 so as to form an X-bracetherebetween. As will be appreciated, the above-described constructionmaintains the laterally spaced rail members 18 of the bar joists 17 in acommon plane and provides a supporting structure which is extremelyrigid to withstand both lateral and A wheel-equipped frame means,indicated generally by the numeral 29, supports one end of each of thedock sections 15, 16 with the wheels30 thereof providing a mobile basefor the dock sections 15, 16 either singly or as the unit indicated atin FIG. 1. As shown particularly in FIG. 3, the frame means 29 includesa transverse axle 31 for mounting the wheels 30 and having laterallyspaced upwardly extending vertical support members 32. Each of thevertical support members 32 is telescopically received within one of apair of tubular members 33 to permit vertical adjustments of the wheels30 toward and away from the bar joist l7. Tubular members 33 are securedone to each of the bar joists 17 and extend between an upper and lowerchord element of its respective bar joist 17 to provide a maximum degreeof support to the wheel-equipped frames 29 in directions longitudinallyof the dock members 15, 16, with a minimum of angular bracing. A pair ofset screws 34, associated with each of the tubular members 33, limitmovements of the vertical support members 32 relative to the tubularmembers 33. As shown, particularly in FIG. 1 of the drawing, thewheelequipped frame 29 is spaced from the outer end of the dock members15, 16 to provide a cantilevered outer end portion to permit use of theouter end of the docking structure 10 with a minimum of underwaterobstacles. An elongated plate-like member 28 is secured to the undersideof lower rail members 19 of each bar joist 17 by welding or the like andextends from adjacent the tubular member 33 to the extreme end of barjoist 17 to provide additional reinforcement for the cantilevered end ofthe dock sections 15, 16. While the structure of FIG. 1 is shown assimple rectangular dock sections 15, 16, it will be appreciatedthat'section 16 could be constructed in a plan shape of an L or T withthe short leg of the L or cross head of the T forming the cantileveredouter end thereof. Such structure, of course, would provide facilitiesat the outer end of the dock for use by a number of persons, such asswimmers or the like, with a minimum of danger of injury thereto due toengagement with such underwater obstacles. The particular constructionof the bar joists 17 together with their brace member 25, 26particularly adapts the above-described construction to such shapes witha minimum use of braces due to the rigid nature of such construction.

Dock sections 15, 16 further include deck means in the nature of aplurality of deck members 35. Each deck member 35 is formed from aplurality of transversely extending slats 36 secured to a pair ofgenerally parallel stringers 37 at spaced points longitudinally thereof.Stringers 37 extend longitudinally of their respective bar joists 17 andengage the adjacent upper chord thereof in the common upper plane of thebar joists 17. Securing means in the nature of nut-equipped bolts 38extend through each of the stringers 37, generally at opposite endsthereof, and an adjacent underlying slot 21. This permits longitudinaladjustments of the deck members 35 relative to one another and thelongitudinal dimensions of the dock sections 15, 16. While a preferredtype of deck has been described hereinabove, somewhat less expensivedeck covering may be utilized through the provision of sheet-like deckmembers formed from rectangular pieces of exterior plywood or the like.Such sheets of plywood would be secured directly to the bar joists 17,without the use of stringers 37, much in the manner of deck members 35(i.e., with carriage bolts or the like). The slotted openings 21 wouldlikewise permit adjustments of the plywood deck members longitudinallyof the dock sections 15, 16 to provide an unbroken deck surface for eachof the sections 15, 16.

Each of the bar joists 17 of the dock sections 15, 16 is formed atopposite ends to provide a support plate 40 having a planar surfacewhich lies in a plane generally parallel to and spaced from the commonupper plane of the bar joists 17. As shown in F IG.- 1, the planarsurface of the support plate 40 at the outer or one end of dock section15 cooperates with the planar surface of the support plate 40 at theopposite or inner end of the dock section 16 to provide a mountingsurface for the separate leaves of a hinged connection 41. The hingedconnection 41 permits pivotal movements of the dock section 15 relativeto the dock section 16 on an axis extending transversely of the dockstructure 10 parallel to the common plane of the bar joists 17. In thismanner, separate adjustments of the wheel-equipped frame means 29associated with section 15 may be made inde pendently of thewheel-equipped frame means 29 of section 16 to effect a desired deckattitude of the section 15 relative to section 16 depending on theunderlying land contour. The particular hinge connection 41 permitspreliminary assembly of the dock structure 10 on the shoreline 13 beforeinsertion into the body of water 11 as well as removal of the entirestructure 10 to the shoreline 13 for disassembly of the sections 15, 16and subsequent separate movement thereof to a storage area.

When the dock structure 10 is initially moved into the body of water 11to the position as shown in FIG. 1, the support plate 40 associated withthe opposite or inner end of the section 15 rests upon and is secured tothe notched edge of the anchoring pad 12 (See FIG. 9). The anchor pad 12provides a more stable installation of the dock structure 10 andprevents accidental displacement thereof during the act of mooringwatercraft, during adverse conditions, or during other extrenes of use.

While a specific embodiment of a double dock structure is illustratedand described, it should be understood that further modifications andimprovements will occur to those skilled in the art. I desire it to beunderstood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to theparticular structure shown, and I intend in the appended claims to coverall modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mobile dock structure comprising:

a. a pair of longitudinally extended bar joists having upper and lowerchord elements and angularly disposed connecting elements;

b. brace means rigidly connecting said bar joists in a generallyparallel relationship with the upper chord elements in a commonhorizontal plane;

c. base-equipped frame means having laterally spaced vertical supportmembers;

d. means carried by one end of each of said bar joists mounting saidvertical support members for adjustments of the bases thereof toward andaway from said bar joists; and

e. deck means, and securing means mounting said deck means to said upperchord elements in said common plane;

i. said upper chord element of each bar joist being formed by a pair oflongitudinally extended laterally spaced rail members with portions ofsaid angularly disposed connecting elements positioned between eachpair, said portions of said angularly disposed connecting elementscooperating with said pair of rail members to define longitudinallyextended slots receiving said securing means.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which said deck means is formed from aplurality of deck members extending laterally outwardly of said barjoists and in which said securing means are nut-equipped bolts extendingthrough said deck members and selected ones of said slots of each barjoist whereby each deck member is adjustable longitudinally of said barjoist.

3. The structure of claim 2 in which each of said plurality of deckmembers include a plurality of slats extending transversely and spacedlongitudinal of said bar joists and a pair of generally parallelstringers secured to and joining said slats, said stringers eachengaging one of said upper chords in said common plane, saidnut-equipped bolts extending through said stringers.

4. The structure of claim 2 and a plurality of support plates, oneattached to each end of each bar joist, each plate lying in a planegenerally parallel to and spaced from said common plane.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which said mobile dock includes a pair ofdock sections hingedly connected together in an end-to-end relationship,and in which said support plates of adjacent ends of said dock sectionsprovide planar surfaces for mounting the hinge connection of said docksections for pivotal movements on an axis extending transversely of saiddock structure parallel to said common plane thereof.

6. The structure of claim 1 in which said lower chord element of eachbar joist is formed by a pair of longitudinally extended laterallyspaced lengths of round bar stock, with portions of said angularlydisposed connecting elements positioned between and affixed to saidlengths, and said pair of rail members comprises a pair oflongitudinally extended pieces of right angle stock.

1. A mobile dock structure comprising: a. a pair of longitudinallyextended bar joists having upper and lower chord elements and angularlydisposed connecting elements; b. brace means rigidly connecting said barjoists in a generally parallel relationship with the upper chordelements in a common horizontal plane; c. base-equipped frame meanshaving laterally spaced vertical support members; d. means carried byone end of each of said bar joists mounting said vertical supportmembers for adjustments of the bases thereof toward and away from saidbar joists; and e. deck means, and securing means mounting said deckmeans to said upper chord elements in said common plane; f. said upperchord element of each bar joist being formed by a pair of longitudinallyextended laterally spaced rail members with portions of said angularlydisposed connecting elements positioned between each pair, said portionsof said angularly disposed connecting elements cooperating with saidpair of rail members to define longitudinally extended slots receivingsaid securing means.
 2. The structure of claim 1 in which said deckmeans is formed from a plurality of deck members extending laterallyoutwardly of said bar joists and in which said securing means arenut-equipped bolts extending through said deck members and selected onesof said slots of each bar joist whereby each deck member is adjustablelongitudinally of said bar joist.
 3. The structure of claim 2 in whicheach of said plurality of deck members include a plurality of slatsextending transversely and spaced longitudinal of said bar joists and apair of generally parallel stringers secured to and joining said slats,said stringers each engaging one of said upper chords in said commonplane, said nut-equipped bolts extending through said stringers.
 4. Thestructure of claim 2 and a plurality of support plates, one attached toeach end of each bar joist, each plate lying in a plane generallyparallel to and spaced from said common plane.
 5. The structure of claim4 in which said mobile dock includes a pair of dock sections hingedlyconnected together in an end-to-end relationship, and in which saidsupport plates of adjacent ends of said dock sections provide planarsurfaces for mounting the hinge connection of said dock sections forpivotal movements on an axis extending transversely of said dockstructure parallel to said common plane thereof.
 6. The structure ofclaim 1 in which said lower chord element of each bar joist is formed bya pair of longitudinally extended laterally spaced lengths of round barstock, with portions of said angularly disposed connecting elementspositioned between and affixed to said lengths, and said pair of railmembers comprises a pair of longitudinally extended pieces of rightangle stock.